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Paris Conference Calls for Justice for the Victims of Massacre in Iran

NCRI - "Today is the time to demand at all levels an investigation into this massacre," said Bernard Kouchner at a conference on Tuesday at the city hall of the 5th district in Paris. He was speaking at an exhibition-conference held on November 28, at the City Hall of the 5th arrondissement of Paris on the theme of the "massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in 1988 – ‘Right to the truth’ for families of victims ".

This event was jointly organized by the Committee for the Support of Human Rights in Iran (CSDHI) and the Committee of Mayors of France for a Democratic Iran, in the presence of the Mayor of the 5th arrondissement, Florence Berthout and many political figures, jurists and elected officials who have called for an appropriate response by the United Nations, States and competent courts to this "crime against humanity", long forgotten, but brought back into in Iran and internationally.

Many speakers including former Algerian Prime Minister Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, former Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights, Rama Yade, Ingrid Betancourt, lawyer William Bourdon, lawyer-expert Tahar Boumedra, a former senior UN official, Jean-Pierre Brard intervened to demand the appointment of an international commission of inquiry into the extrajudicial executions of 30,000 political prisoners, perpetrated in summer of1988 and the following months, following a fatwa of Khomeini, founder of the ruling theocracy in Iran. This meeting particularly observed the presence of Bishop Jacques Gaillot, former Senator Jean-Pierre Michel co-founder of the French Committee for a Democratic Iran, Pierre Bercis President of the New Human Rights (NDH), and the writer Anwar Malek.

Bernard Kouchner recalled that Khomeini ordered the death of 30 000 political prisoners over months. A pinnacle of barbarity, he said. He lamented that a man who was part of the death commission is now Minister of Justice of Rouhani. For the former minister today is the time to demand at all levels an investigation into this massacre.

The President elect of the National Council of the Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, addressed the conference through a video message, stating in particular that "the complacency of the international community and the impunity of the leaders of the Iranian regime for nearly 40 years have encouraged criminals. The mullahs who committed the 1988 massacre continue to break the record of executions around the world. "

Mothers of victims of this massacre, always in search of the remains of their loved ones; as well as representatives of the young generation of Iran, calling on the authorities of the regime on the responsibility for the massacre, also offered their testimony to the audience.

Ingrid Betancourt noted that the economic dividends of the nuclear deal benefited the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) who converged the sums of money. The IRGC she pointed out took the opportunity to multiply the abuses in the region. For Ingrid Betancourt it was a trap to have separated the nuclear business from the human rights issues.

The IRGC intervenes in Syria, Iraq and finances the terrorists like Hezbollah. The policy of appeasement gave a blank check to Iranian regime to attack its neighbors and exploit the people of Iran. She strongly criticized the positions of Federica Mogherini (High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs) who tries to explain the inexplicable by defending the rapprochement with the mullahs. Europe has been wrong and has no right to betray itself by turning a blind eye to the sufferings of the Iranian people.

For Rama Yade, she called for an independent international investigation into the 1988 massacre, recalling that the "Iranian" justice whose minister of justice is directly implicated in this massacre is incompetent to investigate this crime. She also attacked the nuclear deal with Iran, saying the agreement was a blank check, as long as the repression in Iran and the wars and terrorism under it continue.

She stressed that if the Iranian regime refuses to end its missile program or withdraw its militia from Syria, it would be necessary to sanction the regime. William Bourdon pointed out that the 1988 massacre in Iran is the largest massacre of political prisoners since the Second World War. We must put an end to this impunity of the perpetrators of the massacre. These last 30 years have been marked in Iran by mass crimes.

The criminalization of the executioners of Tehran is essential because it is today linked to the executioners of Damascus and it is an ignoble confraternity of criminals. The co-president of the Committee of the mayors of France for a Democratic Iran, Jean François Legaret (mayor of the 1st arrondissement of Paris) presented at this event the declaration of support of several thousand mayors and elected officials of France, who have just signed an appeal for an international inquiry into the massacre, following the recent Congress of mayors in Paris.

It is noteworthy that in this Conference also many documents, photos, video presentations, as well as works of art were illustrated and the exhibition on the sidelines of the conference was well received by a very diverse public.

Concerning the issue of the 1988 massacre and the many complaints from victims' families, the UN the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has discussed this crime in his November 2017 report.

The Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council, Asma Jahangir, also stated in a recent report presented to the United Nations General Assembly on October 25 that the families of the victims have the right to reparation and to know the truth.